German Style Tool Cabinet

Ok, so I thought I would post this too! (perhaps you all find this interesting)... this is a more or less standard German tool cabinet. When one learns as an apprentice here, he builds a tool box, a foot stool, tool cabinet, among other small things… here the Cabinet that I built.. (again, commming from my cellar again after cleaning it out today). Every shop I can think of has a couple of these in more or less the same form.

There is space for every hand tool a Cabinet maker needs…. planes of various sizes, chisels, schrew drivers mallets, hammers, saws.

Keep in mind this has been banging around in my basement for a while now!

It is all solid wood except for the back which is birch plywood. The rest is Nordisch Fir wood, which is why it is so finely grained. This Cabinet is a good example or way to show off hand joinery, skill, and the speed to complete it in a rational/economical fashion. The joinery was all made by hand… excecpt the tounge and groove door were made with the tableshaper machine.

As you can see the Doors are pinned from the inside and are held straight, but still able to work with moisture and still not change the outside dimension of the doors. The munton that is on the top and bottom as well as the tool holders are made out of Ash wood.

You can also see in the pics that moisture has taken a little effect, visible on the closeups of the dovetails. (when freshly built, they were all cleaned/planed flush, now you can see that a couple of tenths of a mm have swolen with the wood)

The key hole protector is made as well by hand out of extra hard yew wood, and made in the typical form of the Biedermeyer style (A style that was very popular in Germany in the second half of the 19th century and one of my personal favorites).

Funny thing, my Opa was a German Cabinet Maker his entire life… cabinets just like these (more or less, anyway) lined the walls of his shop, and home garage. A fine example of outstanding craftsmanship. Good job! :)

It’s a very nice cabinet, built with so many care and atention on every detail, absolutely beautiful work.I love German stuff, I often go to the Ulmia or E.C.E. website to look for the beautiful simplicity of all the tools, cabinets and workbenches.

-- Nature is my manifestation of God. I go to nature every day for inspiration in the day's work. I follow in building the principles which nature has used in its domain" Frank Lloyd Wright